By Athena Papakosta

Berlin was under siege by tractors yesterday as nearly 10,000 farmers from every corner of Germany flocked to the German capital to protest against cuts in this year’s new budget that are putting the country on a path of austerity.

Germany sees its economy shrinking by 0.3% in 2023 with its economic woes looking only at the beginning as Europe’s once steam engine could be the only major eurozone economy to show two years recession.

Anxiety about the day ahead is heightened when the factor of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and its attempt to instrumentalize the protests for its own political gain is added to the equation. International media are sticking to the issue, focusing on the fact that the AfD is trying to make its presence felt in the farmers’ demonstrations.

Some of the tractors carried posters of the far-right party, which has seen its polls elevate it to the second-strongest political force in Germany. “Germany first” and “Germany now in elections” were some of the slogans on these posters with far-right supporters standing next to tractors wearing AfD vests.

At the same time, as noted by the American network CNN, the official page of the Alternative for Germany party on Facebook is republishing photos from the demonstrations accompanied by messages of solidarity with the strikers. One of the posts in particular emphasized: “supporting the democratic protests against the madness of the government coalition “traffic light” will remain a concern in our hearts.” Germany’s three-party coalition government is called a traffic light as an indirect reference to the colors of the parties (Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens) that make it up and match those of the traffic light.

According to analysts, the engagement or rather the attempt to exploit the mobilizations on the part of the AfD is not surprising as history has proven how the extreme right has always exploited the division. In this case, it is enough to consider that the Alternative for Germany party in its political platform opposes the policy of allowances. Nevertheless, it is presented as a lifeline since the said crisis may allow it to grow more, as the migration crisis in 2015 had also allowed it.

2024 is a year during which the Alternative for Germany party hopes to prevail in the electoral contests in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg in September, while it has already set its sights on June’s European elections.

“When legitimate protests turn into anger or contempt for democratic processes and democratic institutions, we all lose. Only those who despise our democracy benefit”, stressed the German chancellor in a video message a few 24 hours ago.

For its part, the German Farmers’ Union distanced itself from the far-right with some of its members appearing with banners on tractors reading “farming is colorful, not brown” in reference to the far-right’s brown uniforms.

At the moment in Germany the debate on the banning of the AfD has been re-opened as a few days ago it was revealed that party politicians were working on a master plan for mass deportations should the party come to power.

The dilemmas are however piling up with many, as reported by Politico, not ruling out that the damage will be more and serious in the case of the ban of the AfD, ultimately leading to a greater rally in its favor.

And so, Germany, still facing its Nazi past, begins 2024 looking for its… alternatives.